VIKING ERA to ANDERS JONASSON

[Rosalie Enstrom]

This is quite a shot in the dark to say the least.   The first generation which I have established in our family history is that of Anders Jonasson who was born in 1747.  He married Maria Johansdotter who was born in 1756 in Muggarp Margaretagard.  The family moved to Klackenhult in Karltorp Parish in 1793.  
Anders and Maria had three children Catharina born in 1774, a second child Catharina born in 1779 and Jonas Anderson (Qvist) born on 23 May 1785.  All were born in Skiro(o) Parish.  
I have been told that our previous ancestors originated in Norway and were in fact connected to the Viking era.  I am not too sure how this would come about but I would be interested to know whether there is any earlier ancestors than Anders Jonasson on record and how would I be able to check which generation originated from Norway.   It is rather difficult to rationalise how this information, if correct, falls into place in our line of family history.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Rose

[Lena Frid]

A shot in the dark, indeed!  
Maybe you are a viking descendant, then again maybe not. There were vikings not only in Norway but also in Denmark and Sweden.  
 
From the viking age to the oldest parish books, there are around 20 generations without much documentation, so it is hard to tell. On the other hand, every person has two parents and 20 generations make well over one million ancestors for Anders and as many for his wife Maria, if they didn't marry their cousins. I suppose all of Scandinavia had less than one million inhabitants when the vikings were active. So, there may well be at least a couple of viking lines among your early ancestors.
 
Some DNA test companies claim they can tell if you are a viking by testing male Y-DNA, inherited from father to sons. The female mt-DNA is considered to vary too slowly to show what happened just 1000 years ago. They compare the DNA sample to the most typical characteristics of people who live in old viking areas today, presuming that most of us are direct descendants of the vikings.  
 
Lena

[Kristina Gunnarsdotter]

The word viking has nothing to do with blood or DNA. It is a term used for the few men, mainly from Scandinavia, who sailed south and east to trade or (mostly) plunder during the years around 800 - 1000. The word probably comes from the word vik, bay.
 
Most men and women lived there lives quietly as craftsmen or ordinary peasants, while some of their brothers, fathers and sons were more adventurous.

[Kristian Dreij]

Rosalie,
To help you a first step on the way to Norway (or wherever their roots are from):
 
Anders Jonassson born Feb 17th 1747 in Snuggarp, Skirö to soldier Jonas Millberg and his wife Karin Andersdotter [Skirö C:1 p 159]
Maria Johansdotter born Dec 23rd 1756 in Kulla, Karlstorp to Johan Andersson and his wife Katarina Danielsdotter [Karlstorp C:2 p 29]
 
Both families can be found in the household exams for Snuggarp and Kulla.
 
/Kristian

[Rosalie Enstrom]

Thank you to all for all the information.
 
Kristian how would I be able to obtain access to the records of Anders and Maria as mentioned by yourself.   I do find it difficult accessing information as I do not know how to do this.  Is there any dates of birth, marriage, death etc in these records?
 
Anything you can do would be much appreciated.    
 
I look forward to hearing from you.
 
Rose

[Kristian Dreij]

Rosalie,
The records can be accessed through the services of either, SVAR, Genline or Arkiv Digital, which all have online services.
Of these I guess Genline's is the best for English speaking customers.
 
/Kristian

[Rosalie Enstrom]

Thank you Kristian for your kind assistance.    I will try to access these and I really appreciate your assistance.
Regards Rose